Kenneth Pobo - The 1935 Waupaca “Lady” Calendar, Howard Clock

The 1935 Waupaca “Lady” Calendar

Coy, holding roses,

unemployment 20.1%,

her bare shoulders,

Is she waiting for someone--

or waiting for Goodman’s swing?

Behind squares

offering dates.

If you need cash,

play Monopoly,

Be a landlord on a board.

She has a story.

No one asks to hear it.

Fully visible, she keeps

hidden in Wisconsin,

failing farms,

housewives churning butter,

sweat in graying hair.

---

Howard Clock

Wind roughs up

lake water. An eagle

heads for a pine

on the opposite shore.

The tree must

welcome her.

Water, calm down.

It’s like a silver

Howard clock,

cord broken,

yet time pushes

deep into my living

room.

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Kenneth Pobo has a new book out called Dindi Expecting Snow (Duck Lake Books). His work has appeared or will appear in: North Dakota Quarterly, Mudfish, Hawaii Review, Amsterdam Review, and elsewhere.